By Rhodes Sinnott

On August 4, 2005, a prodigy was born. Growing up in a family of four sisters, three of whom were NCAA athletes, Sam Hahn (‘25) was destined to be a great athlete and golf phenom. 

Hahn started playing golf with his dad when he was just six years old, immediately falling in love with the game: “I fell in love with the fact that you can always get better, there is never a peak, and there are so many things you can work on.” Golf is known for its difficulty, as it is one of the hardest sports to play because of both the mental and physical aspects of the game. The whole point of the game is to hit a 1.68-inch-wide ball with a metal club into a hole, four inches wide by four inches deep, from hundreds of yards away. Most people can’t even make contact with the ball to begin with. However, Hahn does not shy away from the challenging sport.

Hahn’s favorite part about golf is that it is an individual sport and all of his mistakes are on him; he doesn’t have to depend on anyone else. He also enjoys the rewarding part of winning tournaments and shooting certain scores, as well as improving his skills day in and day out.

To excel at a sport like golf means that the work put into one’s craft needs to be consistent. Hahn is more than consistent. “I normally wake up 3-4 days a week at 6:30 and I will workout at Adams Sports Performance before school. After school, I will go to the course and practice, whether it is hitting balls or playing practice rounds for 2-3 hours.” Hahn’s hard work and commitment to the sport are why he is such a remarkable golf player. Not only does Hahn go to the course every day, but he also has a golf simulator in his own house, which helps Hahn with determining his yardages for different clubs.

Hahn’s hard work has been paying off, as he and his teammates led the Collegiate golf team to back-to-back VISAA state championship wins in 2021 and 2022. He says, “It was very exciting to win in 2021, because it was my first season since COVID cut my first year short, and I didn’t expect to win it all. However, the second time, in 2022, the team and I had a lot more confidence going into the season, and it was more special, because we worked so hard to win it again.” Hahn and his teammates came just short of becoming the first team to ever win a state championship three years in a row in any sport at Collegiate, as they were runners-up to Woodberry Forest School in 2023.

Photo credit: Allyson Brand.

Hahn wants to continue his success at the next level, as he is in the midst of the college recruiting process. Hahn decided this past year that he wanted to reclass to the class of 2025 in order to give himself the best chance to play at the school that best fits him. “The recruiting process was going pretty well before I reclassed, but I wasn’t getting all of the looks I wanted, so I thought reclassing would improve my golf skills and also build better connections with coaches and have the best chance to go to the school I want.” Hahn is currently talking to Power Five schools, including ACC and Big 10 schools.

Outside of school, Hahn participates in many tournaments individually. Throughout the school year, Hahn has around two to three tournaments, but once summertime rolls around, he has a tournament every other weekend. Hahn has won five major tournaments and has finished in the top three in ten different tournaments. A great deal goes into performing in all of these tournaments physically, but the mental and emotional aspect of the sport is what is most challenging. “The mental side is the most difficult aspect of golf. You’re are all alone on the course, it’s just you and your thoughts. You have no one to talk to. I practice getting the negative thoughts out of my mind, especially after hitting a bad shot. I want to remain calm and positive throughout my tournaments.” Hahn is currently ranked in the top ten in the state of Virginia. 

Hahn is very excited for the upcoming 2024 golf season, as he has high hopes for winning the state championship for a third time. The squad welcomes new head coach Shep Lewis, an Upper School history teacher, to the team for his first season, as Hahn believes Lewis will guide him and the boys to success. Hahn will continue his hard work and dedication to the game as his role as a leader grows. As a friend of Hahn, I am very proud of him for all he has accomplished and cannot wait to see him on the course in the next couple of years.

Featured image credit: Allyson Brand.